


Go Climb a Mountain

by somewhereelse



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 21:02:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11170026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somewhereelse/pseuds/somewhereelse
Summary: AU. Oliver and Felicity meet on top of a mountain. Fortunately, this time, no one is stabbed through the chest and pushed off.





	Go Climb a Mountain

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a friend whose life is an effing rom-com.

Oliver pushed open the door to the hut, hoping that there wouldn't be another hiker already in there or joining them for the night. He didn't have anything against sharing the space—he usually felt a kindred connection with the other people he met on these trips—but he really didn't want to subject anyone else to Tommy's whining.

His best friend, despite having zero experiences with the outdoors, had insisted on accompanying him on his next trip. Tommy had worn him down, playing on his guilt for having abandoned his family and friends to go find himself in a remote town in the Sierra Nevada's for several years. Oliver's attempts to prep Tommy for the trip, mainly with increasingly strenuous hikes in the national forest outside of Star City, had been postponed or blown off, and his last ditch attempt to convince Tommy that it was a bad idea hadn't worked. The man had scheduled the time off with his notoriously cutthroat father/boss and gotten on Laurel's shit list by bailing on the wedding of one of her law school friends; he was going, come hell or high water.

Checking back over his shoulder to confirm Tommy was still huffing his way up the steep incline, Oliver turned his attention back to the structure. It was a sight better than other huts he'd stayed in before, might actually qualify as a cabin, and he sent up a silent thank you on Tommy's behalf because this was certainly going to be the roughest his best friend had ever slept. There were two bare but sturdy cots along the wall, a small kitchenette, and what he hoped was a bathroom with running water behind the only interior door. Flicking the light switch a few times, he confirmed that the power was off and went in search of the generator for the roof solar panels.

When he circled back around to the front door, Tommy had collapsed in a heap on the front step. Oliver simply stepped over him as his friend wheezed out, "Don't say I told you so." By the time he'd finished rolling out his sleeping bag and arranging the dinner supplies from his pack, Tommy was managing to crawl inside. "This is nice?" he asked more than stated and looked to Oliver for confirmation.

"A step above the usual. There's a reason they're called _hut_ trips," Oliver deadpanned while Tommy wriggled his way out of the straps to his pack. "You know it's not too late to be eating caviar this weekend."

"No," Tommy emphatically shook his head, "no, I am here, spending time with my best friend because he came back from five years of self-exile a changed man, and I've probably, maybe, changed in those five years, too. So we are bonding and we are not talking about high society weddings in Napa." Oliver couldn't help his chuckle. His best friend was stubborn and loyal to the last, and he wouldn't trade him for anything.

"Okay, but we might have company." Tommy's response was an incredulous turn in the small space of the main room. "Hey, I've seen eight people jammed into a room this size, and you don't know who's coming until they show up."

"Well, that sounds like the opening scene of a horror movie," Tommy muttered as he flopped onto a cot, jumping up when it creaked noisily. "Now what?"

"We become one with nature," Oliver responded with a completely straight face, echoing Malcolm Merlyn's snide remark when he learned Oliver and Tommy's vacation was not an all-inclusive trip to Cancun or the like.

* * *

Their first clue that they really were having company was the echo of feminine laughter from the valley down below. Tommy shot up off the cot where he had been peacefully reading a book (to Oliver's surprise, maybe his best friend _had_ changed over the years), but it was clear he found the prospect of company more interesting. The brunette looked over at him to confirm he hadn't been hearing things, and Oliver shrugged in response. It'd be anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour for them to crest the last incline based on their experience.

* * *

Oliver had propped the front door open with his pack, both to air out the room and to signal to the newcomers that other hikers, not wild animals, were inside, so they heard the pair well before they were seen as their voices carried through the still air.

"Oh thank god," was one woman's cry of relief that brought a sympathetic smile to Tommy's face. "Oh, no, looks like someone beat us."

"Don't try and apologize. We've made great time for your first attempt. Let's go say hi."

He and Tommy exchanged a curious glance as the second voice sounded remarkably familiar and when two petite women appeared in the doorway, it became clear why.

"Sara?"

"Tommy? Ollie?"

The fourth person frowned as the other three just gaped at each other. "Okay, I feel left out."

Sara was the first to recover, laughing in disbelief as she made introductions. "Felicity, this is Tommy, my sister's boyfriend, and Oliver, his best friend. Guys, this is Felicity, she started off as a client but now she's one of my best friends." The unfamiliar blonde offered a shy wave that was pretty much ignored as both men were still frozen. "When Laurel said Tommy bailed on the wedding because you guys were going camping, I never thought she meant like this."

The mention of his girlfriend's name seemed to snap Tommy out of his shock because he flashed a fake smile at Felicity before rushing out, "Nice to meet you. Sara, call Laurel right now."

Sara's immediate response was to poke Tommy in the chest and retort, "If you're so worried, _you_ call Laurel."

As the two descended into bickering, Oliver sidestepped the argument and closed the short space between him and the new girl. He gestured for her to step outside, and she did so with a vaguely shocked expression. "Sorry about that. There's just a lot of history in that room," Oliver was careful not to mention his own involvement in creating that history. She still didn't respond, and he crouched slightly to peek at her face under the brim of what looked to be Sara's old Star City Rockets hat. "Hey, are you okay? Do you need water or anything? Something to eat?"

It was just so incredibly unfair that he smelled like the woods and somehow coffee with a hint of musk that revealed he'd _maybe_ broken a light sweat while climbing the incredibly steep mountain they were standing on top of. In comparison, she hadn't showered in going on four days and had definitely sweat buckets as Sara encouraged her to put one foot in front of the other for the last half hour. Instead of being distracted by his physical appearance, because that man had been hit by the pretty stick an obscene number of times, Felicity forced herself to focus on his unexpectedly sincere concern.

Felicity slowly blinked, clearing the shock from her eyes, and Oliver rocked back on his heels as he was hit with the full strength of her sharp blue eyes. _Whoa._ "Hi," she grinned, and he reflexively returned it. "Thank you but I'm fine—not _fine_ fine. I mean, yes, I'm—well. Not dehydrated or anything, just more than a little shocked and confused by that," she jerked a thumb to point back inside where Sara and Tommy were clearly still arguing, "Are _you_ okay? You seemed a little freaked out to see us—Sara."

"Oh," Oliver straightened himself back to his full height then rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He'd been too charmed by her distracted rambling to notice how he'd basically shoved his face right under her hat. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just shocked, too, I guess. We flew from Star City to Calgary and then drove two hours into the Canadian Rockies and then spent half a day hiking in. I wasn't expecting to see someone from home."

"World's a small place," she shrugged lightly. "Want to sit? Sounds like they're going to be a while." Without waiting for his response, Felicity plopped down on a level patch of grass and tugged off the dark hat before freeing her hair from the elastic and heaving a long sigh as she completely sprawled out on her back. _Hot damn._ Oliver did his best to not swallow his tongue but, in exchange, remained frozen in place. "Sorry," she sat up quickly once she realized he hadn't moved, "Is this not okay? I've only had Sara around these past few days, and she's used to, well, me. I say that like I'm any more normal in everyday life."

"No, I was just—" he almost fed her the cheesy but true line of _admiring the view_ but bit it off just in time, "never mind." Oliver hurriedly settled on the grass next to her and then offered a tentative smile.

"So, Oliver, how is your hut trip going?" she started amicably.

"Better now that you're here," he reflexively tossed out the line and then cringed. Why was his every instinct to revert to the smarmy playboy of his past?

"What?" Felicity wrinkled her brow, and it was clear she wasn't expecting to be hit on given the circumstances. Because they were in the remote wilderness with only two other souls for company, and he should not be a creepy creeper who automatically hits on the new girl.

"I mean it's going better now that _I'm_ here," he quickly course-corrected. "I was away from home for a few years, and it's been a hard adjustment coming back. It's been nice to get away from," he faltered for a moment—she was nice and cute and probably an easygoing person to be friends with Sara—but he didn't want to reveal too much, "the new routine, so I'm doing better out here."

"Yeah? I'm sorry things have been hard for you," Oliver drew back to view her face at the unexpected emotion in her voice. "It can be rough when you come back home and you're not quite the same person but no one knows how to deal with it or won't acknowledge that you've changed. For the better, for the worse, doesn't really matter. They just don't see it. And you feel like you came back, ready to finally live on your own terms and to stop pretending to be someone you're not, and these people, people who love you, they can't let go of the person you were."

Oliver nodded along, quiet for a long moment as he took in how easily she expressed the struggle he's gone through for the past few months when he hadn't given her much to go on. Thea and his parents remembered _Ollie_ fondly, but he knows that boy was selfish and reckless and irresponsible. They'd revised the past to remember his antics as innocent fun, instead of dangerously entitled douchebaggery, and yearned for the easy familiarity of Ollie because it'd be too troublesome to learn the man he's becoming. "That's exactly it. Sounds like you've gone through it."

"Haven't you heard? Reinventions are totally in right now," she quipped, and he narrowed his eyes at the deflection. "Yeah, okay, you caught me. I'm a reformed goth hacktivist. I only use my powers for good now, I swear."

Oliver chuckled at the description then squinted at her, "So, like, black hair, black clothes? I can't see it."

"The whole shebang," she nodded, "Couple more piercings, too." Suddenly, she turned bright red. "I mean, visible ones. What else would I mean? Why did I think you'd need the clarification?"

Slowly flushing to match her, Oliver cleared his throat to try to dislodge any mental images. He'd noticed her industrial piercing glinting in the sunlight, which seemed an odd choice for such a clean-cut woman, but now he couldn't help but wonder where exactly her mind had wandered when distinguishing between visible and non-visible piercings. "How about tattoos?" he slightly changed the subject instead.

"Oh, no, I'm Jewish," Felicity responded, looking relieved that the answer was straight-forward and unable to land her in hot water. "You?"

Shaking his head, he gave her a charming grin, "A few close calls but no. Not on the list of bad decisions I made while drunk." Oliver fell silent, reminiscing on the lengthy list of bad decisions that did occur, and in particular, maybe the worst one made with the other woman in his immediate vicinity.

Felicity tilted her head, studying him closely. He seemed to say a lot without ever actually saying them. "I know by the way," she softly disclosed, bumping her shoulder against his, "If you're beating yourself up about bad decisions, I already know. You don't have to tiptoe around it."

"What?" Oliver questioned, genuinely confused for a moment before he caught her knowing look. "Oh. How?"

Felicity shrugged slightly. "Sara and I became friends when she was still estranged from Laurel. I think I helped to fill that void for her. Anyway, I was feeling guilty about how I broke up with my last boyfriend, and Sara was trying to give me some perspective so she told me about her last romantic—blunder? I guess there's not really a nice way to put it."

"No, there isn't," Oliver agreed dejectedly. Because there wasn't a nice way to phrase sleeping with your sister's boyfriend, or sleeping with your girlfriend's sister, out of sheer selfishness and commitment phobia.

Damn it, he already _liked_ her. Felicity was beautiful and smart and kind and interesting, and he had a feeling she tasted like hope and sunshine and he really wanted to find out if that was true. That possibility was pretty much dead in the water because she seemed like a decent person who'd want to avoid getting involved with a man with loose morals, to put it mildly. He was so damn tired of his mistakes as _Ollie_ biting him in the ass. _Then stop doing things you'll regret._ Somehow, that little voice inside his head managed to sound like a creepy confluence of his mom, his little sister, and his ex-girlfriend.

"At least it's all worked out pretty well," Felicity continued on as if he weren't having an existential crisis right next to her. When his only response was a look of incredulity, she flushed slightly, "I mean, Tommy and Laurel are together and clearly happily committed. Sara is doing great in Central City, and I think her and Nyssa are the real deal. I've only known you for fifteen minutes, but you don't seem to be the same selfish guy who'd make the same mistake. You've all managed to patch things up enough to be friends again. I'm just saying it could have been worse."

Oliver bobbed his head slightly in agreement. Yes, they'd shored up their friendships and gone about their lives as well as they could. It didn't make his actions any more excusable. It didn't make it make sense for this near-stranger (who, _holy hell_ , he kept wanting to know a lot better) to be smoothing over his boneheaded mistakes. "Wait, _Nyssa_?" Oliver finally questioned, obviously having not kept up with Sara that well over the years.

She must have read the surprise in his face as disapproval because she immediately launched into a defensive explanation. " _Yeah_ , her girlfriend. They were supposed to be on this trip together, but Nyssa had a family thing come up, and her dad doesn't approve of her "lifestyle" although he seems to like Sara well enough so I'm not sure how that works out in his head. Anyway, I'm on a little bit of funemployment. Not that I consider unemployment fun, just that I quit my old job at the end of last week, and my new one doesn't start for two weeks so it's kind of like a mandatory vacation. I ended up coming along because Sara didn't want to do this by herself and I was looking for a getaway so here we are." Felicity bit her lip then started again. "Somehow, in conclusion, yes, Sara has a girlfriend. Nyssa's mysteriously terrifying but kind of a teddy bear and objectively hot. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, I was just surprised. I didn't know Sara is—" Oliver fumbled for the accurate term then decided to get to the heart of it all, "That doesn't even matter. As long as she's happy." Felicity nodded hurriedly in agreement and a bit of approval, and he hurried to change the subject before he lost that bit. "You know most people wouldn't consider this a getaway."

"Oh, well, you might have caught Sara mentioning I was her client. I'm actually an IT grunt in real life, and the 12-hour days in front of a computer were really getting to me, so I started working out with her three years ago? About then, at least. We became friends pretty quickly. Since I'm moving away for my new job, I thought it'd be nice to spend time with her and see how far I've come, fitness-wise at least," Felicity finished with a blush since Oliver's eyes unabashedly skimmed her body in a very approving manner.

"Is she trying to convince you she's out of shape?" Sara's voice unexpectedly chimed in from behind them. "Because she's not. Girl's a beast in the gym. I just keep telling you indoor fitness is not the same as outdoor, and they don't always translate so you've got to work at both. Right, Ollie?"

"Sure," he agreed easily, smiling a little when Sara settled on the other side of Felicity. "How's it going in there?"

"We called on speaker," Sara shrugged, "Turns out Laurel doesn't really know what to do with a boyfriend who tells her things upfront." Noticing his flinch out of the corner of her eye, Felicity shot her friend a warning look and reached out to gently pat Oliver's arm. Oliver just shrugged with a wry smile. He knew Sara wasn't saying it to be hurtful; she just had a blunt manner of speaking, plus she had always owned up to her part in the whole debacle.

"Anyway, they're still talking. Though it's a miracle my phone even works up here." She gave a pointed look to Felicity who blushed with the praise. Oliver looked confused so she elaborated, "No, I mean it. Felicity packed a solar charger so it's still got battery and she did some tech genius magic to boost the reception so we've actually been good the entire trip. Maybe she could fix yours up, too."

"Oh are you guys done?" he questioned, feeling slightly disappointed. When he'd first realized that it was _Sara_ standing there, he couldn't think of a worst person to be on a remote camping trip with. Not because of her exactly—Sara had always been adventurous and fun—but because of their history. Now after twenty minutes in Felicity's company, he was already disappointed by the prospect of saying goodbye, probably forever, in the morning.

"Yeah, we did an out-and-back for four days. How about you guys?" Sara responded when Felicity just stared down at her hands.

Oliver shrugged, "Doing the same, but today's the first. Don't know how Tommy's going to hold up."

"We can take him back with us tomorrow," Sara offered, "I know Laurel's breathing fire right now, but she'd probably break down in tears if he surprised her at that wedding."

"You can offer, but he's being pretty stubborn. Says we're bonding," Oliver smiled fondly then turned his attention back to Felicity. "Actually, would you mind looking at my phone? I promised to send pictures to my little sister and I kept losing reception today."

Felicity rolled her eyes to herself because wasn't that just unfairly adorable? "Sure, I just need to grab a few tools from my bag." She left the two to catch up on Sara's relationship, while she trekked the short way back to the hut. Tommy was pacing inside with Sara's phone up to his ear and shot her a much friendlier smile than before.

* * *

"You're into her," Sara stated instead of asked as soon as Felicity had cleared hearing distance. She brushed off Oliver's sputtering protest, "Cut the bullshit, Ollie. You think I can't tell? We were friends before we fucked it all up." Biting his lip, Oliver reluctantly quieted. "I don't mind, you know. Felicity's an adult, she can make her own decisions. I'm just warning you that if you play her, I will cut you. My girlfriend will, too, and she's trained in martial arts you can't even pronounce."

"I'm not the same guy," he returned quietly, defensively.

"I know you're not," she gave him an exasperated look, "of course you're not. Hell, if we didn't learn our lesson after all of that, what kind of terrible people would we be? That was the general _don't hurt my friend_ warning, not the specific _you're a raging douchebag and I'll end you if you go near her_ warning."

With a harsh chuckle, Oliver leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees. "Good to know there's a difference. But you don't have to worry, I'm not going to—she's a good person. Too nice for someone like me," he finished with a shrug.

To his surprise, she burst out laughing, "Yeah, don't let the Librarian Barbie exterior fool you. Girl's got some thorns, and I taught her how to throw a punch. She's more than equipped to handle your newfound broodiness, Ollie."

He all but pouted at her, "I'm not broody."

"And I have a time machine," was the sarcastic retort. "You should go for it. But don't play games. She hates that and will destroy your credit score in retaliation."

"Well when you phrase it like that, who could resist?" Oliver grumbled, trying like hell to hide how impressed he was.

"Oh, please, Felicity is walking, talking competency porn to you. You've never taken simpering women seriously. It's why you and Laurel even lasted as long as you did." The sound of footsteps swishing through tall grass alerted them to Felicity's return, and Sara mimed zipping her lips shut before throwing a shit-eating grin at him.

"What'd I miss?" Felicity dropped down in her previous spot, unfolding a bundle that looked not unlike a lock-picking set.

"You know, adventures in Ollie's family. How's Thea's delinquent boyfriend?" Sara coolly lied with a question designed to needle him.

Oliver glared harshly, which had no visible effect on the relentless blonde, before bothering to answer. "Less of a delinquent, which is annoying because now I have less of a reason to dislike him."

"Well, good for him," Sara ignored the latter half of his sentence. "Felicity, you should see this kid. Got a jawline even Ollie's jealous of."

"Impossible," Felicity scoffed then noticed Sara's barely concealed grin. "Not that I've noticed or anything. I mean, it's just," she sighed at herself, "Just give me your phone."

Tommy joined them not long after, with a skip in his step and a light in his eyes now that he had three targets for his teasing instead of just the impassive Oliver. He quickly ingratiated himself with Felicity, asking her rapid-fire questions as she tinkered with Oliver's cell phone, and he was just as impressed when she, without ever losing her concentration, lobbed back retorts that kept him on his toes. Oliver fluctuated between being amused by the banter and jealous of his best friend's fast connection with Felicity, even though he knew Tommy was happily committed to Laurel. For her part, Sara watched it all with a sly grin that Oliver knew was trouble.

Once Felicity finished with Oliver's cell phone and he shot off a handful of the day's pictures to Thea, the four new and old friends set about preparing for the night. Sara volunteered her and Tommy to gather firewood for the stove, shooting a knowing glance not at Oliver but at Felicity who blushed readily. Desperate not to make things awkward, Oliver focused on the provisions Sara had left him with and how to best combine them with what he had planned for his and Tommy's first dinner. "Sorry," he felt self-conscious when he realized Felicity was just observing him, "I'm not always good company when I'm concentrating on cooking."

"No, it's okay," Felicity gave him a grin that crinkled her eyes, "It's cute. You do this thing when you focus, rubbing your fingers together." It was actually his nervous tick, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "Besides," she continued, her grin deepening, "I was admiring the view."

Oliver barked out a laugh, closing his eyes as he fought against just how _charmed_ he was by this woman. "I had a pretty similar thought not too long ago," he admitted as she came over to rest a hip against the sink.

"Yeah, I thought I heard you right the first time with that line," she shook her head a little with how terrible it was, "I wasn't sure initially, but Sara isn't exactly subtle about these things."

"This is crazy, right?" Oliver chuckled, "Two strangers meeting in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, thousands of miles from either of their homes. This is supposed to be the premise of a horror movie, not a meet-cute. Even if we saw each other again, it's not like it would ever work out."

He was too engrossed with trying to let himself down easily that he missed the hopeful smile drop off her lips. They were interrupted by the sound of Sara's and Tommy's laughter as they barreled up to the door.

"What'd we miss?" Tommy asked, confused that the air seemed to have been sucked out of the small room.

Felicity hummed softly, "Apparently nothing at all." She deliberately walked back to her things and snagged a tablet before settling down quietly on one of the cots.

* * *

In the morning, Oliver and Tommy sent off Sara with a brief hug after extracting a promise from her that she'd visit soon. Felicity gave them a jaunty wave from a few steps away, and the two women disappeared in the other direction, already an easy stream of conversation flowing between the two.

Tommy whacked him on the shoulder strap and sent him a dirty look. "What the hell, man? Why didn't you get her number?"

"I have Sara's number still," Oliver replied, purposefully obtuse, and his best friend rolled his eyes.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. You're your own worst enemy," Tommy scoffed then gestured for him to lead the way.

* * *

Out of boredom, Oliver scrolled through the pictures on his phone. He didn't normally take so many, preferring to be "in the moment" in the wilderness, but he'd wanted to oblige Thea's request— and for once, not break a promise to his little sister. He did regret, a bit, not having snuck a picture of Felicity in the half day he spent with her. Although it was probably for the best, since having something tangible like a picture would just draw out his _pining_. He couldn't believe he was pining.

Tommy snored softly in the seat next to him then flopped the other way, his forehead dropping onto the plane window, and Oliver chuckled. He'd been a good sport and made it through without much more complaining, though Oliver could tell from the exhausted way he'd passed out in the hotel yesterday and even now on the plane, that he would not be repeating the experience any time soon. Which meant he should look for another camping partner, since he'd also promised Thea that he wouldn't go off on these adventures alone anymore. Maybe someone petite and blonde with a penchant for knowing what he was saying when he barely said anything.

No, Oliver knew he'd torpedoed any chances of that when he'd slammed the door on the opening she gave him.

* * *

Felicity surveyed the contents of her living room, which was to say nothing. The movers had arrived bright and early, loading up her furniture and the boxes Sara and Nyssa had helped her tape up last night. All that was left was her weekend bag for tonight's sleepover with the girls and her first couple of days in her new life.

It had been a good last week in Central City, full of running around to cross items off her bucket list, and a farewell party at her favorite wine bar with her friends, a few neighbors, and her coworkers at STAR Labs. She'd promised to visit soon, namely for Sara's birthday weekend and Caitlin and Ronnie's wedding, but overall, everything felt final, neat, unlike the last time she'd packed up her life and moved away.

The business had kept her from dwelling too much on that frustrating dead end she'd come to on top of a mountain, a mystery of a man she'd never have the chance to solve. Sara was encouraging her to reach out to Oliver once she was settled in Star City, but what was the point? She wasn't going to foist a horror movie slash stalker scenario on him like he had been so worried about. If they had been meant to go anywhere, he wouldn't have shut it down so abruptly. It was time to leave the past, even the incredibly recent past, in the past.

She gave a decisive nod, grabbed her bag, and left for the last time.

* * *

"Hey, Oliver," Dig called out as he was waving his client out the front door.

He lounged against the reception desk while the larger man walked over to him. "What's up?"

"Can you do an intro session at 12:30? Your friend Sara sent a referral, and she's coming in on her lunch hour. I'd do it, but Lyla just called and she had to move her doctor's appointment up from this afternoon," Dig explained in a rush, already tugging his leather jacket on.

"Sure," Oliver agreed quickly. It had only been a month since he started working at Dig's gym as a personal trainer, taking a page from Sara's book, and he knew he needed to stay in the man's good graces as well as build his own client base.

As he settled more and more into a structured workday, as flexible as his was, Oliver gave more and more thought to his last great adventure. Dig's mention of Sara only served as yet another reminder of what felt like a sliding door moment. He was starting to enjoy his new routine but how much more would he be enjoying this life if it included interactions with a certain blonde? Even if it was merely a long distance friendship? Tommy had been right; he was his own worst enemy at times.

"Great, thanks, man. I already let her know I wouldn't be here, but wasn't sure if you or Ted would be available. I'll give her a call to let her know it'll be you. If it works out, feel free to keep her as your client."

Oliver shouted his thanks to Dig's back since he already had a foot out the door and was clearly preoccupied by the prospect of Lyla's first ultrasound. After checking the time, he ducked into the back office to grab one of the protein bars he stashed there. The bell on the front door chimed while he was distracted by a workout demo video Ted sent him, and he rushed out to the front, only to stop in his tracks.

"Felicity?" Oliver all but stuttered out, feeling flat-footed and caught off guard.

Felicity didn't look any less shocked. "I guess I know what John's voicemail says," she muttered before glancing over her shoulder as if she were about to turn and flee.

"I thought you live in Central City?" he blurted out, stalling her plans for flight.

She sighed, obviously reluctant to answer his question but apparently not wanting to be rude. "I did. I moved here like a week after I got back from the trip." When he only nodded along mutely, Felicity rushed to fill the awkward silence. "I took a position at Queen Consolidated."

And that's what broke his daze. Oliver spent a long minute chuckling before regaining his composure as she observed him with a faint air of amusement. "Look, can we start over? What I said up there—I just—you knew the terrible things I'd done as a kid and you weren't holding it against me." When she still looked skeptical at his lackluster explanation, he blew out a long sigh, "I was insanely attracted to you, but we don't live, at least I thought we didn't, anywhere near each other. I was just trying to be realistic, I didn't mean to shut the door on... _us_. Or the possibility of us, I guess. I've regretted it ever since."

Oliver wondered what Felicity was looking for when she stared into his eyes with a searching look. After an impossibly long moment, she gave him a sly grin, "Past tense? _Was_ insanely attracted to me?" Oliver smirked, letting his eyes run over her much more tightly fitting workout gear and the heat in his stare speak for itself. She hesitated as an attractive flush made its way up her neck then, "A fresh start?" Felicity extended her hand, his gaze catching on her bright blue nail polish. He took it eagerly without any of her hesitation, and she grinned, "Felicity Smoak, nice to meet you."

"Oliver Queen," he paused for a moment as she processed the shock of his last name, "I'm guessing Sara didn't mention it either?"  
Felicity shook her head emphatically, ponytail swinging, and muttered _traitor_ under her breath. She had a distinct flashback to Sara offering to text her the address of a _great_ gym with highly recommended trainers. Oliver was clearly suppressing a smirk at her shock, and she really wanted to do something to wipe that smugness off his face. Unfortunately, she didn't have anything readily available in her arsenal. "Not to change the subject, but I did come here for a workout."

The smug smirk grew, and she furrowed her brow in confusion. "Felicity, are you asking me to work you over?"

His voice was low, gravelly, and absolutely salacious, and Felicity flushed _everywhere_. Was this how it would have been if he hadn't freaked out about her being friends with Sara and living in different cities? If so, she didn't think she would have survived that night without jumping his bones, even if there were two other people in the room. Mind made up, Felicity turned her attention back to a visibly nervous Oliver, who must be thinking that he'd already crossed the line on their fresh start. "Yes, I am. Dinner tonight?" she asked simply since there was no point in playing coy.

The nervousness morphed into a grin of pleasant surprise, and Felicity was gratified that she could also keep him on his toes. "Yes, please," Oliver responded instantly. Then, with a deep breath, he geared up to ask the question that had been plaguing him for weeks, the question he now knew the answer to. "Can I have your number?"


End file.
